20 Sep 2010 09:23
Guaranty Trust Bank plc
Proposed divestment from non-banking subsidiaries pursuant to the review of the universal banking model
Pursuant to its obligations under the Admission and Disclosure Standards/General Undertaking of The Nigerian Stock Exchange ("The NSE"), the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Guaranty Trust Bank plc ("GTBank" or "Bank") has resolved to recommend the divestment of the Bank's shareholding interests in its non-banking subsidiaries (the "Proposed Divestment") for the consideration and approval of the Bank's shareholders at a duly convened general meeting.
The Proposed Divestment shall also entail the sale of the Bank's equity stake in its insurance subsidiary - Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc ("GTA"), which is also listed on The NSE. The Bank has a direct shareholding interest amounting to 6,767,594,311 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, approximately 68% in the existing issued share capital of GTA as at the date of this announcement.
The Proposed Divestment is in line with the Bank's plans to ensure compliance with the new licensing regime released by the Central Bank of Nigeria ("CBN") on 7 September, 2010, pursuant to the repeal of the Universal Banking Guidelines.
The Board is proud to have been part of building independent non-banking businesses that are led by highly effective management teams imbued with the culture of professionalism, customer service delivery and integrity that have been the Bank's guiding philosophy since its inception two decades ago. The Board is therefore very confident about the future prospects and viability of the respective businesses after the Proposed Divestment.
The Board undertakes to ensure that the Proposed Divestment is carried out with utmost transparency via an independently managed sale process that is in accordance with, and does not infringe any existing law, regulation or guidelines in Nigeria.
To this end, the Board affirms the Bank's strong commitment to unconditionally obtain all consents, approvals or authorisations of all relevant regulatory authorities required for or in connection with the Proposed Divestment at required intervals in the coming months.
Further announcements will be made in due course.
20 September 2010
Enquiries:
| GTBank | +234-1-2714591 |
| Lola Odedina, Head, Communications & External Affairs |
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| Pascal Or |
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| College Hill | +44 20 7457 2020 |
| Peter Pantlin |
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| Tony Friend |
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Notes to editors:
The Group operates as one of the leading Nigerian banks offering a wide range of financial services and products throughout Nigeria and in the West African sub-region. According to the most recently published audited financial statements of Nigerian banks prepared in accordance with Nigerian GAAP, among Tier 1 banks in Nigeria as identified by Agusto & Co., the Bank is the most profitable bank measured in terms of return on assets, the most efficient bank measured in terms of cost to income, has the second best asset quality measured in terms of non-performing loan ratio and, among all banks in Nigeria, the Bank is the sixth largest bank in terms of total assets.
Historically, the Group has focused its business on large- and medium-size corporate clients. However, the economic reforms that followed Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999 led to an increase in liquidity of retail customers and a corresponding increase in demand by such customers for banking services. As a consequence, since 2005, the Group has placed an increasing emphasis on building its retail business. Initially the Group targeted only high-end retail customers that were employed by large, reputable companies. Recently, the Group has re-branded itself to emphasise its retail focus, in particular its evolution as a bank with a nationwide network and focus on the provision of banking services to nearly all segments of the Nigerian economy.
The Bank has five banking subsidiaries established outside of Nigeria - Guaranty Trust Bank (Gambia)
Ltd ("GTB Gambia"), Guaranty Trust Bank (Sierra Leone) Ltd ("GTB Sierra Leone"), Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Ltd ("GTB Ghana"), Guaranty Trust Bank (Liberia) Ltd ("GTB Liberia") and Guaranty Trust Bank (United Kingdom) Ltd ("GTB UK"). The Bank services its customers from 183 branches in Nigeria, as well as other branches of its subsidiaries throughout the region.
The Bank also has five non-banking subsidiaries: Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc ("GTB Assurance"), which provides insurance services in Nigeria, GTB Registrars Limited ("GTB Registrars"), a securities registrar, GTHomes Limited ("GTHomes"), which provides mortgage services, GTB Asset Management Limited ("GTB Asset"), which provides asset management and other investment services and GTB Finance B.V. ("GTB Finance"), a finance subsidiary located in The Netherlands. In each of the past three years, profit from the Bank accounted for over 90.0% of the Group's total income.
www.gtbank.com